MILWAUKEE -- In a tight, back-and-forth game, the energy felt at a ballpark can be palpable. The crowd is fully into it, creating loud noise under the bright lights. The atmosphere is only amplified by the tense moments, especially when two teams are trading their best blows.

That was the environment Tuesday night at American Family Field -- and pretty much every night everywhere for the 2023 Orioles, who routinely find themselves in these types of high-stress encounters.

Many of those contests have gone Baltimore’s way. Not this one. Although the O’s had everything lined up perfectly to secure another impressive win, they couldn’t hang on against the National League Central-leading Brewers, who rallied for a 4-3 walk-off victory in the 10th inning.

A disappointing loss? For sure. No team is upbeat after falling in that fashion, and the visiting clubhouse in Milwaukee was as quiet as expected shortly afterward.

But for a group that believes it could be playing deep into this October -- like these Orioles -- the big picture has to be kept near front of mind.

“Even when you’re losing and you’re in the game, it creates big situations for hitters, it creates big situations for pitchers that might not have experienced that type of atmosphere before,” starter Kyle Gibson said.

“Each time that they do it, especially on the road, when they’re hearing the crowd and they get that energy and they battle through those moments, it’s big.”

There were plenty of such moments on Tuesday.

After Gibson gave up a pair of first-inning runs -- which were all that he allowed over five-plus frames -- the Orioles quickly responded via a tying two-run homer by Aaron Hicks in the second. The score remained knotted at 2 until the seventh.

At that point, the back-and-forth action picked up. Ryan O’Hearn gave the O’s a 3-2 lead with a solo homer in the seventh, then the Brewers tied it back up on Brice Turang’s RBI single in the eighth off Yennier Cano -- only the fourth earned run he’s allowed in 32 1/3 innings this season, raising the rookie right-hander’s ERA to 1.11.

“It happens. It’s part of the game,” O’Hearn said of the late blown lead. “When they tied it up, I still had plenty of confidence we were going to come back and get them.”

Both teams turned to their lights-out closers in the ninth. Milwaukee’s Devin Williams struck out two in a 1-2-3 top half, then Baltimore’s Félix Bautista fanned the side in the bottom of the frame.

Bautista threw only 11 pitches, so manager Brandon Hyde was planning to send him back out for the 10th if the Orioles scored first. But they didn’t. As the game remained tied, Hyde turned to right-hander Austin Voth, who nearly stranded the Crew’s automatic runner at second base, coming one strike away from sending the game to the 11th.

However, Voth left a 1-2 curveball over the inside part of the plate against Joey Wiemer, who jumped on it and knocked it to deep left field for a walk-off single.

“Didn’t want to chase a win on the road in an extra-inning game like that with Bautista and then lose him for a couple days,” Hyde said. “Tough decision. But Voth did a great job until he hung that breaking ball there at the end.”

Baltimore (37-23) nearly recorded its 21st comeback win of the season. It could have notched its 12th one-run victory, as well as its fourth extra-inning triumph. Instead, it came up just short.

There will be more opportunities to turn the tides back the other way. After all, 53 of the Orioles’ first 60 games have been decided by four or fewer runs. They’ve won 33 such contests, more than any other team in MLB.

The tight games create tense environments -- ones that are similar to those Baltimore could be facing about four months from now, should it accomplish its goal of playing past the 162nd game of the regular season.

“I think it’s good, because we’re used to being in those situations of high-pressure, high-leverage innings and big moments,” O’Hearn said. “That prepares you for the postseason, I would say.

“The more we can experience that and get comfortable doing that, then the better for us.”